French, American & Haitian Revolutions

The purpose of this unit is to understand the revolution in government that created the modern world. Students should be able to identify the causes and outcomes of each revolution, as well as the phases and major figures in the French Revolution, the events and people of the Napoleonic era and how the French Revolution changed Europe.

Unit 5 French, American & Haitian Revolutions

As the teacher you need to know the French Revolution is the focus of this unit. Students covered the American Revolution in middle school and this should only be a review. You need to know the causes, major figures and outcomes of the American, French, and Haitian revolutions. You will also need to know the phases of the French Revolution, the Napoleonic era, Congress of Vienna and the consequences of the French Revolution on Europe.You have 5-7 class periods for this unit.

Curriculum will go here

State Standards

Primary Source Documents

These are documents are from the time period and can be used to teach students to think historically. Students should be able to critically read, think about and respond to these documents. This might be done with Socratic Circle/Fishbowls, Dialectic Journals, Response Papers, Philosophical Chairs, or any other appropriate approach

Potential Topics

These topics can be used as the basis for class discussions or writing assignments.

Was the Reign of Terror necessary?

Could Louis XVI have avoided the revolution?

Was the French Revolution caused more by social or economical issues?

What does the American, French and Haitian revolutions have in common?

Identify the grievances of the groups that made up the Third Estate in France on the eve of the French Revolution, and analyze the extent to which one of these groups was able to address it's grievances in the period 1789 – 1799

Describe the ways in which conservative political and social views shaped the peace settlement of the Congress in Vienna. Explain the consequences of the peace settlement for the period 1815 to 1848.

Identify the major social groups in France on the eve of the 1789 Revolution. Assess the extent to which their aspirations were achieved in this period from the meeting in the Estates- General (May 1789) to the declaration of the republic (September 1792).

Analyze the ways in which the events of the French Revolution and Napoleonic period led people to challenge Enlightenment views of society, politics, and human nature.

DBQs

These Document Based Question packets can be used by the students to work on point-of-view/bias in documents, reading primary sources, creating thesis or doing historical writing.